The Catholic Church Fired an In-House Exorcist for Saying UFOs Are Actually Demons. I Can Explain.

Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus.

Yes, the church still employs exorcists. No, they aren’t allowed to call UFOs demons.

Last year, the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS made a fascinating journey through the inner reaches of our Solar System. After passing by several planets, it vanished forever into the depths of space, leaving no chance of a second encounter.  However, it left behind a vast amount of data collected by ground-based and space-based observatories. For scientists, this is an invaluable and extremely rare opportunity to study a “visitor” that originated far beyond the boundaries of our star system.

Illustration of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. Source: ibtimes.com

Researchers recently made a stunning discovery by analyzing data from the MIRI instrument aboard NASA’s advanced James Webb Space Telescope.

According to the European Space Agency, in December the telescope detected traces of methane emanating from 3I/ATLAS. This occurred approximately two months after the interstellar comet passed its perihelion—the point of closest approach to the Sun. Jokingly, one could say that the comet “let off some gas” as it flew through our cosmic neighborhood.

Secrets beneath the ice

The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated. This is the first time in history that astronomers have managed to obtain a chemical fingerprint of an interstellar object and detect methane in it. According to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the MIRI instrument revealed not only the presence of methane but also the distribution of water and carbon dioxide.

The image above shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, photographed using the MIRI instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, along with outlines illustrating the distribution of various gases at the time the comet was observed. Water vapor extends far beyond the nucleus, as much of it is released from ice grains in the coma, while carbon dioxide and methane are most concentrated near the comet’s nucleus. The image below shows a spectrum, and the markers indicate the signatures of various gases that the telescope has detected escaping from the comet. Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Since the intense gas outburst occurred after perihelion—when comets typically heat up the most and lose the most material—scientists have reached an interesting conclusion. They speculate that the methane was hidden very deep beneath the comet’s thick icy shell. According to NASA, methane is an extremely volatile substance that sublimates very easily—that is, it transforms from ice into gas.

A completely different chemistry

The chemical composition of 3I/ATLAS has greatly surprised astronomers. The ratio of methane to water detected was found to be abnormally high compared to the typical comets we are used to seeing. In addition, the latest observations have confirmed that the object is exceptionally rich in carbon dioxide, making it even more unique.

Representatives of the European Space Agency emphasize that these findings unequivocally point to one thing: the chemical composition and formation environment of 3I/ATLAS differ significantly from the conditions under which the vast majority of comets in our solar system formed.

We previously reported on how the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS contained traces of extraterrestrial fuel.

• According to NASA 
• Posted in News, Science

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The discovery was recently detailed in a study featured in Nature Geoscience.

A Massive Fan-Shaped Structure

Composed of several gigantic basins located beneath more than three kilometers of the southern continent’s icy exterior, the unusual structure has been dubbed the “East Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province.”

The massive feature is large enough to be considered continental in scale all by itself and incorporates some of the best-known subglacial features in the region, which include the famous Wilkes and Aurora basins.

The fan-shaped geological megas-structure also features the basin, which comprises Antarctica’s Lake Vostok, which is recognized as the largest subglacial lacustrine feature anywhere on the planet.

“We propose that the fan-like landscape is the product of distributed intraplate rotational extension before the breakup of Gondwana, with three continental-scale consequences,” the team writes in their study.

While the individual basins have all been characterized in past work, the international team reports that the new research marks the first time they have been studied in connection to a singular structure, which they believe was formed through the geological process of distributed rotational extension.

Fault-controlled basins and interpreted structural frame in the newly identified EAFBP.

Credit: Nature Geosci

Origins of a Giant Subglacial Structure

At some point in Antarctica’s deep geological history, the continent’s subglacial crust spread out from a central point, resulting in the distinctive fan-shaped appearance it possesses today.

Likening the feature to an open hand, with each of the basins representing gaps between fingers, the research team says it is possible that the newly-characterized East Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province “could be one of the largest examples of rotational extension ever seen in continental crust.”

The question of how it formed remains a mystery, although there are several possible explanations.

One involves its formation over the course of several tectonic phases, which researchers believe may be linked to the formation of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. According to this theory, the present-day Antarctic land mass’s eventual separation from modern Australia may have played a key role in the breakup that formed the structure in question.

However, remaining questions about the age of the unusual feature also raise possibilities about other geological processes that could have led to its creation.

Today, the structure plays a crucial role in the movement of ice, whereby the distribution of subglacial lakes and basins is primarily governed by its shape. Researchers think this could be important because it would mean the fan-shaped feature may significantly impact the stability of regions of Antarctica that are susceptible to the effects of climate change.

Investigating a Subglacial Mega-Structure

By combining subglacial topographical studies with examinations of geological data, the researchers have tentatively concluded that deep tectonic processes within the continent’s lithosphere, comprising the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, likely played a major role in shaping the structure.

The team combined these data with observations of seismic data, gravity measurements, and magnetic readings as well to help shape the crustal and lithospheric models used as the basis for their study.

According to Durham University researchers, the orientation and elevation of the subglacial topography was calculated based on what the researchers characterize as “rebounded topography,” in which the elevation of land surfaces in East Antarctica were calculated based on how the terrain would respond if none of the ice that currently weights it down were present.

“Laterally, to the west, it caused compression and the consequent uplift of the Gamburtsev Mountains,” the team reports, while to the east, “the northernmost Transantarctic Mountains segment was rotated clockwise by ~20°, overriding the West Antarctic Rift System’s hot lithosphere,” which segmented the mountains into three distinct blocks.

Meanwhile, to the north, the team says the “transcurrent edge of the fan formed the lithospheric weakness that controlled the breakup of Gondwana by driving the propagation of Antarctica–Australia separation and shaping the resulting semi-circular passive continental margins.”

“These processes have influenced the present-day East Antarctica sub-ice landscape and the evolution of the overlying ice sheet,” the researchers say, which includes “the development of glacial troughs and outlet glaciers.”

The team’s recent study, “A fan-shaped subglacial basin province in East Antarctica formed by rotational extension,” was published in Nature Geoscience on June 3, 2026.

• Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

Distributed rotational extension

Analysis suggests the structure was formed by a process known as distributed rotational extension.

This is where the continental crust has spread out from a central point. The pattern is similar to a hand, with the base of the thumb as the fixed point, and fingers spread out, showing the stretching. The gaps between the fingers are like the triangular basins that form as they open.

Understanding Antarctica's geological history

The East Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province could be one of the largest examples of rotational extension ever seen in continental crust.

It may have developed through multiple tectonic phases linked to the evolution of the Gondwana supercontinent and the later separation between Antarctica and Australia and could even have influenced this break-up.

The discovery also raises fresh questions—particularly around the precise age of the structure and the geodynamic mechanisms that generated it.

However, the significance of the discovery extends beyond historical insight.

The shape of the bedrock hidden beneath the ice sheet continues to influence ice flow today, controlling the distribution of subglacial basins and lakes. This could potentially affect the stability of parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet that are particularly sensitive to climate change.

Rebounded topography

To investigate the structure, researchers combined subglacial topography with geological observations, gravity, magnetic and seismic data, and crustal and lithospheric models.

They found that the observed structure is a result of a deep tectonic process within the Antarctic lithosphere.

Dr. Guy Paxman from our Department of Geography was part of the research team.

He led on calculating what the elevation of the land surface of East Antarctica would be if all the ice were removed (which would cause the land to rebound upwards by as much as one kilometer).

This "rebounded topography" was used in analysis of the orientation and elevation of the topography of the newly discovered structure.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

Scientists Detect Massive Structure Under Antarctica

By Joe Wilkins

Armadillo et al.; Futurism; Shutterstock

Researchers have uncovered the existence of a monumental geological structure buried two miles beneath the frigid ice of Antarctica.

According to a new paper, published in the journal Nature, the massive structure is made up of several previously known glacial landforms, like the Wilkes and Aurora subglacial basin region of East Antarctica, as well as Lake Vostok, the largest known subglacial lake on the planet.

These features have been studied separately for years, a press release notes, but have never been recognized as individual pieces to a larger puzzle.

Called the East Antarctic Fan-shaped Basin Province, the newly-identified structure likely represents one of the largest Earth features of its kind. While more work will be needed to corroborate the findings, the theorized formation could be crucial for understanding how Antarctica came to be, and how its three major ice sheets may respond to a warming climate.

To map the structure, scientists compiled datasets from a buffet of sources, like geological observations, gravity measurements, magnetic data, and models of the Earth’s crust, among others.

Added together, those datasets led researchers to conclude the geological feature likely formed through a process known as “distributed rotational extension,” where continental crust slowly stretches outward from a central point over a period of millions of years.

“Because these basins underlie about half of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, they are likely to heavily influence both ice-flow and landscape evolution, making them essential to Antarctic glacial and hydrological processes,” the study’s authors write.

More on Antarctica: 

• Scientists Scramble to Set Up Outpost on Rapidly Melting Glacier

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Inside NASA's $1 BILLION plan to destroy the ISS: As the latest leak sparks evacuation fears, experts reveal how the doomed space station will be destroyed in 2030

• READ MORE: Russian cosmonauts SAW through ISS amid air leak crisis

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Over 25 years since the first astronauts floated aboard the International Space Station, time is now running out for Earth's orbiting outpost.

Last week, NASA astronauts were ordered to prepare for an emergency evacuation while Russian cosmonauts attempted to repair a 'worsening' leak.

While no escape flights were ultimately necessary, this near miss has sparked concerns that the ISS has reached the end of its useful lifespan.

Now, experts have revealed the step–by–step details of the $1 billion plan to bring the doomed station crashing down to Earth.

Speaking at the ASCEND 2026 aerospace conference, Ryan Landon, director of Operations at NASA Johnson Space Centre, said that the ISS would be allowed to start falling to Earth sometime in 2028.

With a mass of 450,000 kilograms, about the same as 280 family cars, the ISS will slowly fall out of orbit if it isn't being periodically boosted upwards.

However, simply letting the station's orbit 'decay' naturally would result in an uncontrolled re–entry that would scatter potentially deadly debris across Earth.

This means that NASA will push the station out of orbit, bringing the remaining material down at a remote location in the Pacific Ocean.

After Russian attempts to fix a leak on the International Space Station trigger an evacuation scare, experts have revealed the $1 billion plan to bring the doomed station down to Earth 

The ISS and its crew of seven astronauts from around the world orbit at an altitude of 250 miles (400km) above the Earth.

To maintain this relatively low orbit, the station has to move incredibly fast, travelling at speeds of 17,500mph (28,000km/h) and whizzing over our heads 16 times a day.

Normally, the station maintains its speed by using propellant to thrust back up into orbit and avoid tumbling into the thicker layers of the atmosphere.

However, starting from 2028, NASA plans to simply let this process take its natural course.

According to the latest plans published in 2024, the station will still be operational during this time, and on–board activities, including research, will continue as normal.

Left unchecked, this process would eventually bring the station crashing into the atmosphere, where most of the materials would be burned up by friction.

But this type of uncontrolled re–entry is far too risky for an object as large as the ISS.

Dr James Beck, space debris expert and director of UK–based space consultancy Belstead Research, told the Daily Mail: 'It is certain that parts will reach the surface of the Earth, and most likely quite a lot of parts.

Last week, NASA astronauts were forced to take shelter in their SpaceX Dragon capsule (pictured) in case of a disaster aboard the orbiting station 

How will the ISS be brought back to Earth?

1. Starting from 2028 the ISS will be allowed to gradually fall from 250 miles to 200 miles above Earth.
2. In 2029, the last human crew will depart the ISS and take anything of historical importance they can carry.
3. As the ISS falls from 200 miles to 175 miles, a modified SpaceX Dragon capsule will dock with the station.
4. Once the station hits the point of no return at 175 miles, the Dragon capsule will begin to guide the ISS into an elliptical orbit.
5. When the time is right, the space tug will deliver one last kick and push the station into Earth within less than half an orbit.
6. The ISS and tug will hit the atmosphere at 17,000 mph and be destroyed.  

'The open question is how many, and whether there can be sufficient control over where this occurs.'

Dr Beck explains that there is an internationally agreed 'casualty risk limit' of one in 10,000 for any re–entry.

This limit is typically reached once a spacecraft gets to a mass of around 500 to 1,000 kg, whereas the ISS weighs 450 tonnes.

Dr Beck says: 'It should be expected that a few hundred objects which could cause casualties on the ground would be produced.'

The space agency can't limit how much debris reaches the ground, so they need to control exactly where this debris ends up so that no one gets hurt.

This requires boosting the station backwards, slowing it down at a precise point in its orbit so that it eventually falls in an uninhabited area in the Pacific called Point Nemo.

Known as the 'Spaceship Graveyard', Point Nemo is the furthest location from any inhabited location anywhere on Earth, which significantly reduces the danger of space debris.

According to NASA's calculations, the ISS will need to change its speed by about 127 miles per hour (204 km/h), which is a tiny fraction of its total speed.

NASA plans to use a modified Dragon capsule to push the ISS out of orbit (artist's impression), so that it falls within an uninhabited part of the Pacific Ocean 

The International Space Station: Key facts

Length: 356ft (109m)

Weight (in Earth gravity): 419,725kg

Average altitude: 250 miles (400km)

Average speed: 17,500mph (28,000km/h)

Earth orbits per day: 16

Maximum docking capacity: Eight spacecraft

Permanent crew size: Seven astronauts

Maximum crew capacity: 13 

However, this will consume about nine tonnes of propellant, which is far more than the ISS's own thrusters can provide.

In 2024, NASA awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX a contract worth slightly under $1 billion (£749.69 million) to build a 'tugboat' capable of delivering that push.

This will be a modified version of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule used to deliver astronauts and cargo that will dock with the station before firing up its motor and pushing the ISS down to Earth.

This vehicle will need to carry six times as much propellant and produce three to four times as much power as the current generation of SpaceX spacecraft.

NASA officials now say that the last cargo capsule will depart the ISS around mid–2029, ahead of the official end of operations in 2030.

Once the last crew have gone, the station will continue to fall over several months until it reaches the 'point of no return' at an altitude of 175 miles (280 km).

Roughly 18 months before the ISS crashes down in 2031, the modified Dragon capsule will dock with the station and prepare to deliver the finishing blow.

Speaking at a press conference in 2024, Dana Weigel, NASA’s ISS manager, explained that the tug would do this over several stages over 18 months.

NASA estimates it will cost $1bn (£800m) to convert a Dragon capsule (pictured) into a vehicle capable of pushing the ISS out of orbit 

Ms Weigel said: 'At the right time, it will perform a complex series of actions... over several days to deorbit the space station.

'First, the deorbit vehicle will perform orbit shaping burns to put the station in a low elliptical orbit, and then, eventually, it will perform a final re–entry burn'.

NASA expects that most of the space station will be destroyed, but 40 to 100 tonnes of denser materials could still make it through the atmosphere.

Once the space station hits thicker air at an altitude of around 150 miles (250 km), there is also a risk that the tugboat could lose control of the station and begin to tumble.

Read More

• The 'Son of Concorde' is about to take to the skies: NASA readies its $247 million supersonic jet 

In 1979, NASA's 75–tonne space station, Skylab, tore itself apart as it crashed through the atmosphere during a planned re–entry, sending debris falling over parts of Western Australia.

However, NASA's assessment found that leaving the ISS in orbit is far more dangerous than attempting to bring it down intentionally.

The agency's 2024 assessment concluded: 'The International Space Station requires a controlled re–entry because it is very large, and uncontrolled re–entry would result in very large pieces of debris with a large debris footprint, posing a significant risk to the public worldwide.

'Ensuring the space station is well maintained continues to be the safest operational approach while also planning for deorbit at the space station’s end of life.'

EXPLAINED: THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SITS 250 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH

The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000. 

Crews have come mainly from the US and Russia, but the Japanese space agency JAXA and European space agency ESA have also sent astronauts. 

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has been expended with multiple new modules added and upgrades to systems 

Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.

ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.

The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.

So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.

There is an ongoing debate about the future of the station beyond 2025, when it is thought some of the original structure will reach 'end of life'.

Russia, a major partner in the station, plans to launch its own orbital platform around then, with Axiom Space, a private firm, planning to send its own modules for purely commercial use to the station at the same time. 

NASA, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working together to build a space station in orbit around the moon, and Russia and China are working on a similar project, that would also include a base on the surface. 

The End of The International Space Station

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A mysterious object initially described as a possible UFO and shot down by a $500,000 missile under former president Joe Biden's administration has since been identified as a Boy Scout balloon. 

In February 2023, F-16s scrambled to confront an octagonal object hovering 20,000 feet above Lake Huron before blasting it from the sky with an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, according to video released last month by the Department of War.

The 45-second clip captured a black, orb-like object in US airspace, with a dangling string visible in the fighter jet's crosshairs moments before it was blown apart. 

The shootdown, carried out by a Minnesota Air National Guard F-16 Viper, was ordered by former President Biden 'out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of military leaders.'

But Sean Kirkpatrick, former head of the federal All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), revealed that the object actually belonged to a Boy Scout troop. 

'The balloon had circumnavigated the globe eight times before we shot it down with a half-million-dollar missile,' he said at a conference in April.

Kirkpatrick added that the orb in question was part of an ongoing, unspecified research project. 

'You can imagine the response on the Hill when I briefed that,' he said.

An object initially described as a possible UFO and shot down by a $500,000 missile under the Biden administration in 2023 was revealed to have been a Boy Scout balloon 

In February 2023, F-16s scrambled to confront an octagonal object hovering 20,000ft above Lake Huron before blasting it from the sky

During an April press conference, Sean Kirkpatrick, former head of the federal All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), said the orb was part of an ongoing, unspecified research project

The shootdown was ordered by former President Joe Biden 'out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of military leaders'

The Boy Scout orb was destroyed amid the Chinese spy balloon incident, as criticism grew over the government's delay in acting while public concern spiked and citizens became 'freaked out,' according to an congresswoman who spoke to CNN.

In the span of just two weeks, US fighter jets shot down three other high-altitude objects over North American airspace, beginning with one off the South Carolina coast on February 4, 2023. 

FBI analysis of the recovered wreckage found that the balloon was part of a Beijing surveillance network with antennas used to collect and locate communications over US missile bases. 

'It's not a major breach. Look, the total amount of intelligence gathering that's going on by every country around the world is overwhelming,' Biden said at the time. 

In the following days, one object was shot down off the coast of Alaska and was later identified as a hobbyist balloon belonging to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, as reported by The Guardian.

The group reported one of its hobby balloons 'missing in action' on February 11, 2023 - the same day a US F-22 shot down an unidentified airborne object using a $439,000 missile. 

Meanwhile, the hobby balloon itself was estimated to be worth only about $12. 

Then came the object downed over the Great Lakes at around 2.42pm on February 12, 2023, which again cost the US government nearly $1 million in missiles to destroy. 

Tim Phillips, a former interim director of AARO, told The New York Post: 'After the Chinese spy balloon embarrassment, DOD was shooting at every (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) they detected'

The 45-second clip captured a black, orb-like object with a dangling string visible in the fighter jet's crosshairs moments before it was blown apart

It was revealed that a US Air Force F-16 missed its first attempt before firing a second AIM-9X Sidewinder missile that struck the target 

Tim Phillips, a former interim director of AARO, told The New York Post: 'After the Chinese spy balloon embarrassment, DOD was shooting at every (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) they detected.'

Kirkpatrick described another incident during April's conference in which a US fighter pilot reported encountering a UFO with 'stealth-like capabilities' and was authorized to fire a missile. 

But what was ultimately destroyed was a star-shaped Mylar balloon from Walmart that read 'Happy Birthday.' 

Many of the military's alleged UFO videos, including some released by the Trump administration, actually show ordinary manmade objects that were misidentified by Reaper drone operators. 

'They've been on mission and they've got to get back to base to rearm and refuel. And you've got a bored operator looking around. And they pick something up and aren't sure what it is,' Phillips told the outlet.

'We're actually seeing, good reporting coming out of the fleet, coming out of the operation wings and squadrons, where they're willing to report this stuff,' he added.

'And this is part of that outreach where we get our scientists to talk to the Reaper operators and actually go side by side and try to do some education.'

Shortly after the Lake Huron shootdown, it was revealed that a US Air Force F-16 missed its first attempt before firing a second AIM-9X Sidewinder missile that struck the target, according to Fox News. Each missile costs around $400,000. 

In the span of just two weeks, US fighter jets shot down three other high-altitude objects over North American airspace, beginning with one off the South Carolina coast on February 4, 2023

FBI analysis of the recovered wreckage in South Carolina waters found that the balloon was part of a Beijing surveillance network 

Kirkpatrick described another incident during April's conference in which a US fighter pilot reported encountering a UFO with 'stealth-like capabilities,' only for it to be a $12 balloon from Walmart

The mission over the Great Lakes came as the White House continued to laugh off suggestions that aliens are involved in the UFO sightings

Despite a Pentagon memo describing the flying object as a 'small, metallic balloon', audio of conversation from inside the jets showed that the pilots went back and forth over how to define the UFO. 

'I wouldn’t really call it a balloon… I don’t know what… I can see it outside with my eyes,' one of the pilots can be heard saying. 

Military officials later described the object as an 'octagonal structure', which was shot out of the sky because it was 'a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities.' 

But audio recordings, released by The Drive, shed light on the puzzling nature of the military operation as it erupted over US airspace. 

After coming-face-to-face with the object, one of the pilots noted: 'I wouldn't really call it a balloon. I can see it outside with my eyes.' 

'Looks like something… there’s some kind of object that’s distended… it’s hard to tell, it’s pretty small,' he added. 

The mission over the Great Lakes came as the White House continued to laugh off suggestions that aliens are involved in the UFO sightings, amid increased pressure for officials to explain recent developments. 

The barrage of downed high-altitude objects also prompted the White House to announce the creation of a new UFO task force to study the security threat posed by unidentified objects entering US airspace. 

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Something Dark Is Going On At Los Alamos: Melissa Casias’ Mysterious Death Joins Chilling List Of Scientists Linked To UFO & Secret Tech Programs

The UFO and secret-technology angle comes mostly from online speculation and broader interest in a separate wave of “missing scientists” theories. The Wall Street Journal reported that a fringe conspiracy theory about missing scientists had attracted FBI attention, but also noted that investigators and critics had not found evidence proving a coordinated plot.

 Scientific American likewise argued that basic statistics can explain why clusters of cases can look connected even when they are not. In other words, the pattern may feel suspicious without being proof of a hidden project.

Chris Cuomo on NewsNation discussed the possibility of conspiracy, classified work, and UAP-related secrecy, but it also includes caution from Morgan Wright that people should not jump from evidence to narrative too early. It also says Casias was an administrative assistant, not a scientist with nuclear-program access, and that she had no access to restricted data or “anything dealing with nukes” according to the guest’s explanation. That matters because it weakens the idea that she was deep inside a secret technology project.

CNN writes Casias was last seen walking southbound on State Road 518 in June 2025, and that her personal items were left at home. People reported the same broad facts and added that a handgun was found next to the remains. None of those reports provide evidence of aliens, black-budget technology, or clandestine experimentation.

A key point is that the cause of death was not established in the initial reports. That leaves room for uncertainty, but uncertainty is not the same as proof of a cover-up. People often treat unresolved details as a doorway to huge conclusions. In reality, unresolved details often stay unresolved because investigators are still collecting and testing evidence.

The public timeline also matters. Casias disappeared on June 26, 2025, and her remains were found on May 28, 2026, in Carson National Forest. That delay is troubling and understandably painful for her family, but delay alone does not establish a secret-program explanation.

Why the UFO link spread

The UFO connection appears to be more about surrounding culture than about the case itself. Los Alamos has long been associated in public imagination with nuclear history, advanced  science, and secrecy, so any employee from there can quickly become part of a larger mystery story. That association is powerful even when the person involved worked in an administrative role rather than a technical one.

NewsNation interview with Morgan Wright touches this point. It says the government should be more transparent about “the UAP phenomenon,” and suggests that secrecy creates a vacuum that conspiracy theories rush to fill. That is a fair description of how online narratives grow. Once a case sits near a lab, a weapon program, or a classified site, people begin connecting unrelated dots because the setting feels dramatic.

Claims about “secret technology” are especially weak here because the known facts do not show that Casias held a  scientific or technical role connected to classified research. NewsNation reports that Casias was an administrative assistant and that she likely had only limited clearance consistent with administrative work, not access to restricted technical material. If true, that would make her much less likely to be involved in any hidden weapons or advanced propulsion project.

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This is where sensational stories become misleading. They often blur “worked at a sensitive place” into “must have known something huge.” That move sounds exciting, but it collapses under scrutiny. The public record here does not show Casias was connected to any hidden aircraft, reverse-engineered non-human craft, or black-site program.

There is no public evidence that links Casias’s death to non-human intelligence. No report cited in the available sources says investigators found materials, witnesses, signals, or physical traces suggesting aliens or anomalous technology. What exists is a death investigation, a recovered body, and a lot of online interpretation.

The interview brings up UFO files, classified labs, and missing people in New Mexico in the same conversation, which makes the topic feel unified even when the facts are not. That style works well for television because it is emotionally sticky, but it is not evidence. A compelling story is not the same thing as a proven one.

Even the more cautious sources about the broader “missing scientists” wave do not support an alien angle.  Scientific American argued that statistical clustering and selective attention can make ordinary cases appear linked. That same logic applies here. A tragic case near a famous lab can be folded into a UFO narrative because people already expect secrets there.

There are still unanswered questions in Casias’s case, and those questions are legitimate. The exact cause and manner of death were still under investigation in the public reports. The reason for the handgun’s presence, the circumstances of her final hours, and the full forensic findings were not established in the early coverage.

Those unknowns create space for speculation, but speculation should stay separate from fact. A missing person case can involve suicide, accident, foul play, or a mix of confusing circumstances. Without a completed forensic conclusion, any single theory is premature. The interview transcript itself warns against deciding too early and says the biggest danger is going from evidence straight to narrative.

That warning is useful here. People want a clear explanation, especially when a person worked near a famous lab and the story already sounds unusual. But unusual does not automatically mean extraordinary. Sometimes a mysterious-looking case turns out to be a human tragedy with no hidden dimension.

Melissa Casias was a Los Alamos administrative employee who went missing, was later found dead, and became the subject of online speculation because her case sat inside a broader moment of fascination with secrecy, labs, and UFOs. That broader moment helped push her case into a larger conspiracy frame. But the evidence made public so far does not prove any connection to secret technology or non-human intelligence.

That does not mean people invented the concern from nothing. Some details, like the recovery of remains far from where she was last seen and the presence of a handgun, naturally invite questions. It is also true that secrecy around government work creates public suspicion. Still, suspicion is only the beginning of inquiry, not the end of it.

So the responsible conclusion is simple. The case is tragic and still serious, but the UFO and hidden-project angle remains unproven and speculative. At this point, the story is about a death investigation, not confirmed alien contact, not confirmed black-budget technology, and not confirmed non-human intelligence.

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

Brazilian Influencer Gains 2.2 Million Followers After UFO Video, Now Says He’s Terrified

News articles say he lives alone on a small farm in an isolated area with no neighbors nearby, no tap water, and no mobile signal. On Sunday, May 31, 2026 what should have been a normal day of taking care of the animals turned into something he describes as a possible UFO encounter.

He first noticed that the animals were very nervous and running around the property. Worried that it might be a wild animal, such as a jaguar, he grabbed his bow and arrows and went to investigate.

At the edge of his land, he found the electric fence down and heard strange noises that frightened him. He says the sound was hard to describe. It was like metallic tones layered on top of each other, a sort of crack, roar, or snapping sound, as if a single source was making several metallic noises at once. He recorded two Instagram Stories with the audio of these sounds.

Later that afternoon, he says he heard another sound above his house, like a ratchet or gear mechanism, similar to a very large ship or boat passing overhead. At that moment, he already felt he might be going crazy, but he kept filming so that at least his followers could hear what he was hearing.

He describes the experience as if he had “received” the sounds in his head, not just heard them with his ears, and this impression keeps replaying in his mind and makes it hard for him to sleep.

Around nightfall, from his veranda, he saw strange lights on a mountain ridge visible from the house. He says the lights were neither high enough to be above the hill nor low enough to touch the ground, and that the object appeared to be hovering over the trees near a river.

He filmed the scene using maximum zoom on an iPhone 15, capturing a bright object with grouped lights on the distant slope. According to him, the object stayed there for about 20 to 40 minutes before the lights went out and disappeared. After the lights vanished, he remained outside talking to his followers on live video.

He then says he saw something very large finishing a pass over his house, which made him feel he had been in front of “something that was not from here,” an intelligence he believes was greater than ours

Encouraged by a follower, he drew what he saw to try to represent the shape of the supposed craft. He did not go to the site of the lights because it is more than three kilometers away, with rough terrain, dense forest and a river, and he was afraid. He insists he did not edit the videos in any way.

Before this episode, he had about 46,000 followers. As the stories and videos spread, they went viral, with one of the videos alone reaching more than two million views. His audience jumped to more than 950,000 followers in a short time, and the case became one of the most talked-about topics on social networks in Brazil.

He describes the experience as both scary and beautiful and says it is one of the most intense things he has ever lived through. At the same time, he reports that he has been unable to sleep properly for two days because of the fear and the flood of messages he receives.

Reaction online has been mixed. Many people support him and send messages saying they have had similar experiences or believe he really saw a UFO. Others attack him, insult him and even threaten him. Some accuse him of creating a hoax for self‑promotion or to help promote a science‑fiction film about aliens that is about to be released.

There are also people saying the lights could be drones, but Mayk says locals in the area do not have that kind of equipment. With the case going viral, he says he has received messages from all over the world. According to him, ufologists have offered to visit the farm, examine the place and analyze the original, unedited videos.

He is crying as he explains that he is emotionally shaken and scared by everything that happened after he filmed the strange lights and the supposed UFO, and by how this is affecting his life.

In the interviews and lives, he says he has not been able to sleep properly for about two days, both because of fear of what he saw and because of the huge number of people contacting him. He explains that the sounds he heard in the forest and above his house were very disturbing and feel like they are still “inside his head,” as if he had received a kind of vibration or communication instead of just hearing a normal noise.

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Plox, a Brazilian online news portal, reports that the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) says that its radars did not detect any object in the area of Campo Largo at the time of the video. They state that the monitoring and control of Brazilian airspace in that region were completely normal, with nothing out of the ordinary showing up in their systems.

According to Mayk Leao, the incident began when he noticed an unusual behaviour among the nearly 280 animals living on his rural property, many of which had been rescued through an animal welfare NGO he supports, reports Mixvale.

Concerned, he went outside to investigate and found a section of the property's electric fence down. Soon after, he heard what he described as a series of metallic clicking sounds and loud noises unlike anything he had experienced before.

Leao said that he began recording the sounds and later spotted mysterious lights hovering above the treeline near a mountain range. He also used the maximum zoom on his iPhone 15, he captured the footage of flashing lights he claims remained visible for roughly 20 to 40 minutes before moving in the direction of his house. Then its just disappeared.

The story quickly gained attention online, largely because Leao had never previously been associated with UFO-related content. Known for sharing videos about rural life and animal rescue, he saw his social media following surge from around 46000 to more than 950000 in just a matter of days.

Days later, Mayk Leao posted the clip; he shared another footage of himself in a mental breakdown condition, claiming that his life changed dramatically after he filmed what he believes was a UFO near his rural property.

According to the influencer, an unfamiliar black vehicle with heavily tinted windows began appearing near his home. Leao has since shared the emotional videos online, saying the incidents have left him fearful for his safety and increasingly concerned about who may be watching him.

As soon as the couple of videos surfaced on social media, it quickly sparked a debate. One user wrote on X, "TF!! Are these things even real?!! Sometimes I don't know what to believe on these socials!!

While one asked, "Who tf is Mayk Leão?" "Someone famous in his neighbourhood?"

"This is ridiculous. Spotting a UFO is nothing to any government. Now when you actually have an encounter with the beings inside the UFO, that’s when they’ll start coming around. Stop this fearmongering."

"Look at this shit; if that UFO shows up in the middle of the Penha Complex, there wouldn't be any drama, but it goes and shows up to the Freddie Mercury of Paraná, and then it's all this little drama," one added.

"And with all his fear, he thought a video for the public might be the best idea? 😂😂😂"

While one joke, "At least he’s handling it well."

"Not buying this; it gives me the vibes of that guy that has aliens manifest in his living room, but it’s always the same angle," and more.

Image credit : X | Who is Mayk Leão, the man behind the viral footage of mysterious lights that sparked UFO speculation worldwide?

However, IndiaTimes cannot confirm on the viral claims by Mayk Leao as the story is completely based on the social media buzz.

Who is Mayk Leao?

Mayk Leao is a 31-year-old Brazilian content creator and nursing technician who gained international attention in June 2026 after sharing a video of mysterious lights that he alleged were linked to a UFO sighting.

Prior to his sudden rise in popularity, Leão led a relatively low-profile life in the rural outskirts of Campo Largo, which is located in the metropolitan area of Curitiba in Paraná, Brazil. Through his Instagram account, he regularly documented everyday life on his small farm, where he cared for around 280 rescued animals.

Conclusion

I am no expert here. I read an explanation on Metabunk where people argues “UFO” in Mayk Leão’s video is probably something ordinary on the ground, not an alien craft, and that the whole case is strongly influenced by social media hype and  movie marketing vibes.

Other users on the site say the lights in the video do not move like an object in the sky and appear clearly below the distant ridge, which fits something on the hillside rather than in the air. Some speculate it could be construction equipment, emergency vehicles or a convoy, not a craft hovering over the river as Mayk believes. One user points out that Mayk did not know there was a campsite and homesteads in that direction, which could make distant vehicle lights look mysterious to him.

I do not know if that’s the case. You decide.

{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

Ancient Alien Base Found Under The Ocean Between Japan and Taiwan, UFO UAP Sighting News.

Date of discovery: June 6, 2026

Location of discovery:  29° 5'17.31"N 129°19'36.70"E

Source: Google map

Size of base: 23 miles long by 2.3 miles wide

 

I was searching for an alien base in the ocean using Google Map and I discovered this long structure that is made of many smaller pieces all tied together. It was clear to me this was something created by intelligent beings long ago and may even be inhabited today. The However, if we saw them, would we recognize them as an intelligent species? Probably if they wanted us too, I mean what if they were light entities that could only be seen during the night time? Then day time rules seeing them, and night such light entities have been seen in China, Japan and Taiwan, this location is at its center...and since I myself saw at midnight about 13 years ago hundreds of light entities flying over our apartments when I was out front entering the outside area of the apartments, where me, my son and my wife all saw several hundred glowing lights we can see through that looked like transparent tear drops passing over us at about 100 miles per hour, after they passed by, a few must have noticed us because about 7-9 came back and began circling over us (New Taipei City). They were curious about us, and my son was scared, about 8 years old at the time, cried after a few minutes thinking they were ghosts and my wife led him into the house. The lights united in a few minutes into a sphere large like the moon and then I went in the house. The whole thing lasted about 7-10 minutes. I took some video, but the lights were so faint that they just barely showed up on video. So...light entities are a real thing. I can now recognize similar videos that had the same entities in them...which has happened around the globe but always dismissed as city lights, but...they are wrong. 

Scott C. Waring - UFO Sightings Daily 

 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

Giant Black Sphere Seeds Clouds With Mini Orbs! Nov 23, 2020 UFO UAP Paranormal Sighting News.

Date of sighting: Nov 23, 2020

Dept of War, US Gov:

• https://www.war.gov/ufo/?releaseDate=Release+02#DOW-UAP-PR055-Spherical-UAP-over-AFG-in-and-out-of-clouds-23-Nov-2020

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }